Unsolved Mystery | The West Point Lake Homicide of 1990

Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime

4.4 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2024

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In March 8th, 1990, an unidentified homicide victim was discovered at West Point Lake, Georgia, and remains unidentified to this day.

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, talks with Clay Brant about an unidentified homicide victim discovered at West Point Lake in 1990. They discuss the victim's distinctive tattoos, a unique belt buckle, a commemorative ring from the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and other personal effects. Sheryl and Clay also discuss trackng the victim’s identity through DNA testing, media outreach, and historical labor records. Last but not least, they encourage listeners to take part in the effort to help, highlighting the critical role of media and community involvement in solving cold cases.

Guest Bio and Links:

Clay Bryant is a retired chief of police, author, and cold case expert with decades of experience in law enforcement. Known for his meticulous attention to detail, Clay has solved numerous high-profile cases, bringing closure to families and communities.

Clay is the author of three books:

The Cold Case Murder of Fred Wilkerson: Untangling the Black Widow's Web in West Georgia

Solving the West Georgia Murder of Gwendolyn Moore: A Cry From the Well

Solving the Murder of Vieng Phovixay: Evil Dwells in West Georgia (True Crime)

Show Notes:

(0:00) Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum
(0:10) Sheryl introduces the 1990 case
(0:30) Sheryl welcomes returning guest, Clay Brant to the listeners
(2:00) Distinctive tattoos and their significance
(5:00) Investigative leads and challenges
(8:30) Potential connections and theories
(11:45) Efforts to identify the victim
(14:30) Call for Zone 7 listeners
(23:05) “For me, jewelry is a way of keeping memories alive.” -LC
Thanks for listening to another episode! If you’re loving the show and want to help grow the show, please head over to Itunes and leave a rating and review!

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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.

Social Links:

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	March the 8th, 1990, an unknown homicide victim washed ashore in West Point Lake just north of LaGrange, Georgia.
0:24.0	He is still unidentified today.
0:26.2	We need your help.
0:29.6	Y'all tonight, welcome back.
0:31.4	Chief Clay Bryant.
0:32.8	Chief, how are you?
0:33.9	Doing well.
0:34.5	Doing well.
0:36.3	Glad to hear from you, Sheriff. Well, I'm glad you're back because this case, I honestly believe with the help of as many
0:43.6	people that we can get the word out, you'd have a better chance of identifying this man.
0:48.3	Without a doubt, and I'm so privileged to be able to have your platform to be able to put this word out.
0:55.7	This case has gone long enough.
0:57.8	Well, I just want people to know, West Point Lake is a man-made reservoir located in West Central, Georgia,
1:04.9	on the Chattahoochee River, and it's maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers.
1:10.1	It flows from the north.
1:12.4	Now, Chief, the body of this man was in advanced state of decomm.
1:18.6	The medical examiner theorized that it had been about 60 days post-death.
1:25.0	And the gunshot wound was the cause of death, correct?
1:28.6	That is correct. What those gunshot wounds look like?
1:31.9	Typical keyhole defects in the skull to the rear of the skull. If you would term it as an
1:37.9	execution style, killing. Execution style. So two, so they met business. They were,
1:44.0	these shots were intended to dispatch the victim quickly.
	...

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